Thursday, October 21, 2010

Above, looking east at the entrance of the Hallandale Jewish Center at 416 N.E. 8th Avenue, Hallandale Beach, FL. October 3, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Important Reminder:

The next formal step in Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School founder Peter Deutsch's attempt to cram a Middle School & High School version of Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School into a single-family residential neighborhood in NE Hallandale Beach will be the Hallandale Beach P&Z meeting on Wednesday October 27 at 1:30 p.m. in the Hallandale Beach City Hall Commission Chambers.

Get there early, since the Ben Gamla parents from Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Pembroke Pines and the rest of the county will descend en masse, yet again, to tell HB residents one more time what we HAVE to do.

Yes, they do rather love to lecture us, don't they, that is, when they aren't patronizing us or maligning the schools in this city?

That Peter Deutsch & Co. will make millions a year is beside the point we're told, just like the fact that less than 10% of any kids there will actually be from this city.You know, where they want to locate the school.

Which means it's not really a community school, is it?

Given his past, often-repetitive comments about opportunity, you'd think that just on principle alone, that would make HB Comm. Anthony A. Sanders quite angry, and very eager to see that ANY charter schools in this city accurately reflect the demographic reality of THIS city's school children.

In this city, given the still-large but decreasing number of retirees, that's African-American and Hispanic kids.Everyone knows this.

But on this issue, as has been the case with him on so many over the past two years, where is Sanders, knowing as well as we ALL do that there are plenty of vacant, larger places in HB -or elsewhere- better-suited for this proposal, than this family neighborhood on a secondary street that consistently floods when a cloud comes over it?

When he first ran for City Commission two years ago, after he was hand-picked and installed as interim commissioner by Mayor Joy Cooper in a completely un-democratic process that was completely counter to the already-established process the city had used to fill short-term vacancies -the very one that led to Keith London becoming a commissioner in the first place- Sanders often said that he was going to be a "voice" for positive change, not an echo of the status quo, remember?

That's what Sanders said and that's what the editorial boards of the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel implied (and desperately wanted to believe) in their surprising election endorsements of him, which many of us strongly questioned, then and now.Frankly, it's almost as if they liked the abstract idea of Sanders more than the actual candidate.Well, it hasn't quite happened as they predicted, has it?No it hasn't.

In fact, if anything, Sanders has been quieter on the dais than he ever was when he simply appeared at city meetings as a regular citizen, regardless of the merits of what he was saying.Why is he SO mute and SO unwilling to do his homework as a commissioner and ask genuine questions to get responsive answers, instead of his non-sequiturs?

It's embarrassing, just like with book-ends Dotty Ross and Bill Julian, whose intellectual laziness and utter lack of curiosity on the dais as commissioners are both BIG parts of the longstanding problem in this town.

Those traits are also why they are NOT part of any logical solutions to turning this city around in a tangible manner so that residents and business owners can have some degree of satisfaction that someone besides Comm. London is looking after their best long-term interests.But London is only one vote.

To say thatRoss and Julian are totally disconnected from reality is an understatement, and this is proven time-and-again asthey evince complete surprise at hearing information that iscommon knowledge among HB residents and business owners alike, as well as anyone paying attention.In fact, sometimes this weakness reveals itself in especially cringe-worthy fashion as Comm. Ross reminded us of all over again last night, when the word "annually" was uttered in a discussion of the city manager's new contract, which is for $213,000 a year by the way.Her comment, which I have on videotape, was something along the lines of "Annually? You mean like every year?"Yes, that kind of annually!

You'll recall that I mentioned on my blog last year that Sanders left the Ben Gamla's "Community Meeting" of last year about 45 minutes into its two hours.Yes, the very community meetings that Peter Deutsch publicly admitted a number of times last week that he'd NEVER have held if he wasn't required to by the city, since he doesn't care what the HB community thinks.

As it happens, Sanders appears to have been a no-show for last week's meeting, as nobody saw him there, including me -and I was looking.

If you want to share your thoughts with Comm. Anthony Sanders on this issue, his City Hallphone number is (954) 457-1319.

We already know from past experience that Wednesday will be quite a chaotic and emotional scene and that HB City Hall will once again handle it poorly, not bothering to have a TV available in the City Hall lobby for overflow crowds -as they'd have at Hollywood City Hall- so if you want to see it for yourself, and actually speak your mind, you have to be there.

Today, six days before the meeting, despite numerous inquiries -or simply doing it because it's the fair thing to do- the City of Hallandale Beach has still refused to put Ben Gamla's entire formal application on the city's website for the public's examination, despite the fact that they have had the documents since June -over four months.

Meet the New city manager, Mark Antonio, same as the old city manager, Mike Good.

See for yourself at http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/index.aspx?nid=648and see my recent posts about the Ben Gamla situation,http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Ben%20Gamla%20Hebrew%20Charter%20School

No doubt they are planning on repeating their pathetic anti-democratic template from December, when they didn't place the Diplomat LAC proposal docs on the city's website until 28 hours before the P&Z meeting.28 HOURS.

A system where all the insiders, the lobbyists and the lawyers get to know what's going on -but not the taxpayers who have to live with the results.

That's a pertinent fact that I reminded the Broward County Commission of when I spoke before them when the proposal came before them earlier this year -TWICE- much to the chagrin of the mayor's pals and cronies in attendance, who had all spoken in favor of it.While the County Commission and their staff had WEEKS to make sense of the many docs.

Why are Hallandale Beach taxpayers who are paying thousands of dollars a month for a third-rate, universally-reviled website, consistently the last ones to find out?

Some HB residents say those documents should have been on the city's awful website within 72 hours of being received.Or a week.Or a month.

But here we are, four months later, and there's still NOTHING for taxpayers to look at -FOUR MONTHS.That's not by accident, that's by design.

Like so many other things in this poorly-run city that are intentionally done with stealth, deception and mendacity, that's the way that Mayor Cooper and the three-member Rubber Stamp Crew want it, otherwise, they'd direct City Manager Mark Antonio to change it.They haven't done that, have they?There's your story.-----

If you want to personally call Mark Antonio and ask him why the Ben Gamla application and associated documents STILL aren't on the taxpayer-funded website for the citizen taxpayers of this city to examine, his City Hall phone number is (954) 457-1300

The City Hall phone number for Development Services director Richard Cannone is (954) 457-1375.

Ask them why they and the mayor seem so afraid of a level playing field on PUBLIC information.

A post shared by ESTHEREVERYWHERE (@esthereverywhere) on Nov 9, 2016 at 4:16pm PST

Thumbs up! What a night! #HOLLYWOODFL based photographer and entrepreneur Esther Chuang with a very elated Hollywood Mayor-elect Josh Levy at his Victory Party, held at Leo Anato's Atelier3/AT3 on Harrison Street & S. 19th Avenue, Hollywood. AT3's great environment and the amazing variety of food prepared by chef Kevin Dreifuss, former owner/chef of ENDS MEAT restaurant, was SUPERB! November 8, 2016

A post shared by ESTHEREVERYWHERE (@esthereverywhere) on Jul 10, 2015 at 5:17pm PDT

Above, perhaps my most-favorite photo ever of Esther, which is really saying something considering the THOUSANDS that I've actually seen of her, from all over the world. But despite the fact that you can't actually see it here, trust me, her amazing smile and inner and external beauty are there. This photo is an even more amazing achievement when you know the backstory of what it took for Esther to get to the top of the mountain, since it's NOT for the faint of heart. Next time you see her, ask her about that! Morro Dois Irmãos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on her birthday, July 10, 2015. That's the Christ The Redeemer statue way out in the horizon on the top of another mountain, to the left of her head.
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In case you forgot what the Christ the Redeemer statue looks like, up close, here's another Brazilian beauty to connect-the-dots for you: Gisele Bündchen, aka @Gisele.

Made in the shade! Your faithful blogger, Dave, on a very windy Sunday afternoon about 430 PM, in between the iconic beachball-colored Hallandale Beach Water Tower and HB Lifeguard stand #1, near @ETARURestaurant, October 29, 2017, Hallandale Beach, Florida

A few minutes later, in between the Hallandale Beach Water Tower and the beach, near @ETARURestaurant, October 29, 2017, Hallandale Beach, Florida

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Svensk Hjärta

Jag älskar Stockholm - ST❤️CKHOLM

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, June 2010

My Twitter header currently features my June 2010 screenshot of Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria moments after her wedding in Stockholm. Her smile = amazing, priceless! Should have posted it years ago!

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You know me, Cissi, just a truth-telling chronicler of fact in a world of facades/self-deception/PR flackery. Yr future in the #music industry = unlimited precisely bec U have the qualities it takes to succeed -and thrive!��2018 = going to be your year!�� @fredrikstrage@variety

Almost as misleading as his signs that read "Bring Bill back." Absolutely nobody in #HallandaleBeach, outside of his cult of (feckless) personality, is saying this. He is the personification of everything bad there the past 15 years thru his obliviousness, lack of scruples.

#FunFactSweden Did you know that Sweden has five official minority languages – Sami, Yiddish, Romani, Finnish & Meänkieli (Torne Valley Finnish)? Bonus fact: Swedish was not formally recognized as the main official language until 2009. pic.twitter.com/EUUz9LkF2W

2/ Runcie's #Broward SchoolBoard said $800 million bond passed by voters in 2014 wld do something abt it. So what's going on there? Four months ago this was the sad reality: "There's been zero progress," says #CoralSprings Comm. Larry Vignola, adding it "should be top priority."

#SoFL#Broward Doing edits on my upcoming blog post re doings in #HallandaleBeach Tues. night: Perplexed public reacts to complete unknown being selected HB City Commissioner in "process" that was anything but open & fair-minded, and which was NOT an item on the public agenda. ��

Have thought for many years that fresh new faces/voices were desperately needed @SunSentinel@browardpolitics to make it more relevant/timely & fair-minded. Running dozens of tweets in 1 day saying same thing is not interesting. Esp. when seem like they're straight fm #DNC/#DCCC.

MT @omriceren Oh god. We're now going to have a nat'l debate abt whether being a survivor of a horrific mass shooting confers on teenagers exceptional epistemic privilege and policy wisdom allowing them to intuit solutions to cultural debates that have divided USA for generations

"We need to knock down this idea that the people were fooled. The 17.4million didn't vote Leave because of a dodgy slogan on a bus. They voted Leave because the laws that govern this country should be made in this country."@Tom_Slater_ discussing #Brexit on #skypaperspic.twitter.com/lIO6Z6Y45r

"If Russia's aim was to undermine US democracy, the US establishment did the job for them. The post-election smears against Trump voters, the Nazi scaremongering, did far more to undermine democracy than dodgy Twitter accounts ever could."@Tom_Slater_ on last night's #skypaperspic.twitter.com/x5S655opzO

Me, I'm not so big on ppl trying to crash an event that they either aren't invited to or expected at, then getting on thr high-horse to lecture everyone else. Self-involved, self-referential stunts, even if covered by yr media pals, don't make U right. https://t.co/f8BHX0i9Ot

On June 14th we will receive Sweden’s @PolarMusicPrize which awards two laureates in celebration of music in all its various genres. Honorees receive one million SEK which we will donate to @AWMHFoundation. We are truly humbled & inspired to be recognized in this manner! pic.twitter.com/oXkHySzah1

Media can regain lost credibility by stopping the snarky comments and looking for the clever nasty soundbite as it makes media look petty-the facts are more powerful and persuasive- so keep integrity and report the facts ,whatever they may be; facts are powerful;do you agree?

One doesn’t have to like Trump, or admire his behavior, or think this memo is a big deal, in order to find this attitude alarming. The FBI is subordinate to an executive agency created by Congress. https://t.co/uKtmpoeQPw

Well... make that Sunday morning. Forgot about time I would expend on my #SuperBowl Party prepaparations, so look for the post about future felon Joy Cooper on Sunday morning by Noon. No, really. It'll be up!!

In '11, as I blogged @ time, @DailyMailUK succeeded where so many others had failed, solving a riddle as old as time: "#Ikea design stores 'as mazes' to stop shoppers leaving so you end up buying more. Thanks Prof. Alan Penn, or is it Sherlock? https://t.co/LVlr1QrNdH via @Femail

The #Shakespeare#Miami company gave a terrific #Hamlet performance in DWTWN #HollywoodFL on a windy nite B4 hundreds of appreciative fans, many of whom clearly were new to LIVE #drama & Shakespeare judging by funny comments I heard beforehand. Always room for more drama fans!��

My #WhatsApp: I remember happy moments like that. And soon a day that I never ever thought could be reached, nor ever wanted to be reached, Day 101, will be over. Triple digits. To quote someone I'm forever quoting, "Wow." ☹️ And I'm not in #Sweden , either. ☹️☹️ pic.twitter.com/upD1rLQTaB

@instapundit In 2018, nothing's more precious than U.S. news media getting on thr high horse to lecture us abt personal relationships in workplace. Just don't think of Ben Bradlee @washingtonpost or Les Moonves @CBS, whose girlfriends worked for them there https://t.co/EErNGuIy1n

Mollie meet Eric. You two have lot in common re frequency of moral/ethical lapses @Twitter and thr clear-cut political P.O.V. masquerading as 'just-reporting-the-facts.' "How about “We push political narrative as news & just need to stop.”?" https://t.co/yLXROQuJFk@instapundit

Might've better been titled "THE most #Broward tweet of all-time." Self-promoting narcissist lobbyist takes a bow for making $ from private interests whose interests are usually antithetical to the public's, while on public dime. �� #galling#FL#ethics@crespogram@BillyCorben

The boyfriend of Mikaela -Malin and Jennifer's sister- wrote above: "Honey, you are my everything, my dream, my imagination, my reality, my future. Sounds like something that I would write to someone special -and have!

There are some who want Florida to become a sanctuary state much like California. Well I am here to say that we will not follow down that dangerous path. The Florida House passed HB-9 to enforce the rule of law and keep our communities safe. #HB9#SanctuaryCities#FLpol#Sayfiepic.twitter.com/W2zA69P9eH

My 4 year old overheard CNN & was terrified but I couldn't tell why. As I was putting her to bed she finally worked up the courage to ask "daddy, why does Federica Mogherini refuse to work with the Trump admin to prevent Iran from developing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles?"

"African Americans believe they migrated to America in chains, and when you speak to chain migration it hurts them personally" https://t.co/dtXXnMrML6 Is this a joke? It seems hard to believe even Dick Durbin is actually that stupid or cynical.

Reality: #Haiti really = mess. I once walked into Haitian Embassy in #DC during weekday afternoon w/my Mother who was visiting me from #Miami and there to do some business. We walked into bldg., did not see one person there for over twelve minutes. Gave up after 15 minutes, left.

@BillyCorben .@KennethTuran: gambling places so much strain on his marriage" that Riggs goes to a personal therapist, Gamblers Anonymous mtgs; plays cards w/his therapist, harangues his G.A. group, telling 'em thr problem = not that they gamble but that they're no good at it. ��

Remember, they're not making a big deal because they found out what was going on in Hollywood. They always knew. They're making a big deal because you found out what was going on in Hollywood. https://t.co/fV8YlV5gMk

There's the official "diversity visa" lottery & then there's the unofficial TPS lottery -- in which illegals lucky enough to be here when disaster strikes their homelands win work permits & Social Security accounts.

Police investigating possible explosion in Gothenburg tonight, in an area where another explosion took place on Dec 5. Earlier today a man was killed by what police suspect to be a hand grenade in Stockholm subway. BTW no longer the top headline here. https://t.co/V7r2zxLiFz

After "torture-like" gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Malmö last night, police urging women/girls not to walk alone after dark. I wrote about Sweden's rape problem for @QuilletteM recently: https://t.co/EKrRBcHwCW

You are a disgrace @margotwallstrom. In your twisted world an embassy move warrants UN emergency sessions but when mullahs - the men your "feminist government" bowed to - slaughter Iranians in the streets, you boycott US efforts at the UN. Shame on you!https://t.co/6RgTvw8CAB

There are still plenty of ppl @Newsweek who, 11 years ago, bet-the-house on the #Duke#Lacrosse rape story being true, doing everything they cld at the time short of providing rope for a lynching, to malign accused bec they were White Jocks and accuser was Black. @IngrahamAngle

Anna Muzychuk, #Hero. "In a few days I am going to lose two World Champion titles—one by one. Just because I decided not to go to Saudi Arabia. Not to play by someone's rules, not to wear abaya, not to be accompanied getting outside—not to feel myself a secondary creature." pic.twitter.com/qOB6U3QVqR

No matter where you stand politically, a growing body of facts raises the question: Is there systemic corruption or misfeasance at work inside America’s intelligence agencies? By @SharylAttkissonhttps://t.co/SvS0FYCyGg

Meanwhile, there are ZERO #HallandaleBeach Police officers at busiest intersection of city during morning gridlock @ US-1/HB Blvd. that snarls traffic in city 4 residents/#SmallBiz, commuters to #HollywoodFL/#Aventura. Please STOP giving new HB PoliceChief a hall pass!��������

.@MargotWallstrom Why did same rally calling for murder of Jews also cry out "Long live Margot Wallström!"? They said you "have their back." Is this who you fight for?@CarlBildt: Why did you just write op-ed dismissing antisemitism in Sweden & omit murder chants in your capital? pic.twitter.com/0ikwrXJAzz

My take on the recent attacks against Jews in Sweden and the wave of anti-Jewish incitement. Sweden's leaders must address the causes of the new anti-Semitism, or this is only going to get worse. My oped in @nytimes : https://t.co/C915B3wenK

‘Brexit hasn’t emboldened people to be racist, it’s emboldened people to talk about difficult political issues. We can’t conflate discussion about immigration with racism’ - spiked writer @MrCDHamilton talking sense on #skynews

Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying. There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick https://t.co/ljK9NqICbm

‘Brexit hasn’t emboldened people to be racist, it’s emboldened people to talk about difficult political issues. We can’t conflate discussion about immigration with racism’ - spiked writer @MrCDHamilton talking sense on #skynews

Valerie, 25, is a server who has over 50 Halloween costumes in her closet and doesn't like to swim in the deep ocean because "there is so much that we don't know about the deep sea." pic.twitter.com/F8jM2tTFPF

Miss Iraq is a hero. Her family forced to flee because she posed with Miss Israel, to send message of peace & love. She stands strong: "I’m not the first nor last person to face persecution over a matter of personal freedom. Millions of Iraqi women live in fear. #freeiraqiwomen" pic.twitter.com/Ta2CMMG6oU

John Oliver just went after Dustin Hoffman big time on sexual harassment at this Wag The Dog panel. Hoffman grew visibly uncomfortable. "You weren't there," he says to Oliver. "I'm happy I wasn't," Oliver replied.

After the infamous Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting, a frantic scramble erupted in the halls of the FBI to cover it up. The FBI was concerned not about the scandalous meeting itself, but was instead focused on one of the whistleblowers who got the word out.https://t.co/HFn822GbDj

Got off a long flight to find out “I Could Use A Love Song” is nominated for a freaking Grammy! I can’t process that HERO has had this presence both years now, so I’m incredibly thankful & shocked. Congratulations to all of my friends for their nominations as well! #GRAMMYspic.twitter.com/sa2DUjrCEG

In 1790, 19% of the entire population of the first 13 states lived in Virginia. But 10 of the 26 senators in the first Congress represented states that—combined—had roughly 100,000 fewer people than VA

For this week's sunday twitter focus, we're going analog, back to a time when writing things down on paper still meant something. Send your favorite #MovieLetters our way & we'll retweet our favorites throughout the day! pic.twitter.com/hcHCmKYrcr

On August 20, 1939, the New York Times wrote an article profiling Hitler's daily life in his mountain chalet, featuring such details as, "Though Hitler is a strict vegetarian and teetotaler, he is not indifferent to meals."